A Scholar's travels with a Witcher

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

(A/N: This story has been published on FFN and AO3 in the past. A reader advised me to try posting it here.)

A young scholar, scorned by his family and not knowing what else to do, sets out to find a subject for his studies. At first, he is merely looking for something to help him make his name in scholarly circles.

But as time goes on, the more he sees and the more he learns, he is forced to challenge what he has always believed to be true.

And maybe, he can teach the Witcher a thing or two as well.

Information

Status
Completed
Year
2023
Author
Spike368

Tags

ACTIONFANTASYADVENTUREMAGICROMANCE SUBPLOTMALE LEADLOW FANTASY

Royal Road Stats

Rating
4.7/ 5.0
Followers
515
Views
337,962

Chapters(260 total)

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

  • ArfoireRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    I finished Scholar's Travels with a Witcher
    And I can't wait for you to start
    It's incredible at bringing out a depth of emotion I haven't experienced in any other story
    There are admittedly problems with it, it tends to have too much flavor text, MC is a paragon of virtue held back only by his limitations, praises of the MC sometimes happen too frequently, it can get upsettingly dark even for me sometimes, but where all of those things are true, the opposite is, as well. The flavor text often adds unusually high depth to the scene, MC often gets cut down to size, the payoffs for the dark times are equally as cheery.
    I don't wanna read anything rn tho
    I'm just still remembering and feeling the things I read in this one
    Just kinda feeling heartsick if that's the right word
    Scholar is that kind of story where it feels alive. Every characrer, village, city, swamp, forest,
    We go forwards and backwards in story, there's reflection of whar happened in the past, consequences for actions, ignorance of various things happens, everyone is suitably flawed except for the enemies who are sometimes just ridiculously evil
    There's politics, family mattters, lots of love and lots of R13 jokes and talk
    Scholar's doesn't fall into most of the trappings everything else does btw
    It's not a litRPG, there's a fair bit of indulgence in racism, sexism and all the -ism's when appropriate in it, none of it goes without criticism and isn't glorified
    There is a lot of near-death experiences for the MC tho
    That is the biggest trapping it falls into
    That, and almost every romantic encounter between any couple is one where the woman is more forward
    There are exceptions but when it's so prevalant that the romances skew heavily towards one gender in who was pursuing whom,
    You kinda get sick with feeling like it's not a realistic expectation of the society they live in
    Akmost every single anime romance falls into this as well
  • AurumBallRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    This story is one of those where I took my time reading. Each chapter took me on a journey and throughout Frederick's journey I've felt his pain, joy, sadness, and anger. Each character introduced was distinct and they felt alive.
    The story started out simple where the MC was just a scholar who wants to document the life of a witcher. From there, it evolved into a much more complex story where each arc builds the story of our protagonist and we see how the main character change throughout his journey.
    Overall, this is a great story that I highly recommend to anyone who loves the Witcher.
  • BL4cK228Royal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    The best novel to teach about humanity and spritual journey to find your self. To discover yourself from others perspectif. To make you found your old self that you miss. To rebuild your self. It really nostalgic.
    This novel teach me to yearn for what I want to be, and give me a way and a purpose to be the better man that I need. Thank you for the author to make this novel. 😊
  • DanmonoRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    Probably the best written story on royal road. Every scene can be easily imagined and makes you feel like you were there. Check it out! Prior knowledge of the Witcher helps but is not required by any means. The characters are deep and I stopped everything else since starting to read it.
  • Eli1012101Royal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    This story is a little unreal in how good it is. Its actually become one of, if not outright my favorite novel I've read in a VERY long time. Its not written like most of the stories you'll read on this site, instead having a very creative perspective in which we read from the perspective of a fanbase for our protagonist in universe as he writes his own series of books about his travels. The subject matter is VERY mature, and frankly of everything in this book this is the thing I would consider something I'd have to warn someone of when reading. This novel can be VERY dark in terms of subject matter, and frankly I don't think it's an appropriate read for children, and maybe even teens. It can cover a lot of very gratuitous subject matter, but its always in service to either the plot, or to show us the readers what evil can look like when it goes unchecked. It's never shown simply for shock factor, and it would be impossible to think its being glorified or idealized in any way. I think if you have the stomach for it, this book is an ABSOLUTE must read.
  • Generic readerRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    I already read up to the chapter 118 in ffn, and it was one of the best things i read not only in the fanfiction area. The way that you expand the story is marvelous well done and remember me of more grim dark stories. The characters are really fleshed  and worked on instead of just pouring more and more as the story passes. In resume, is a good read and i sincerely recommend reading at least 10 chapters (you will be surprised positively by the length). And just for curiosity on ffn the story is counting above 4 millions words
  • ImATreeBelieveMeRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    All in all this is a good fantasy fic that uses the world and some characters from The Witcher to set up a series of mystery stories. Most of the antagonists are invented for the story though, so it sort of drifts off into AU territory. The major problem with it is that quite often, the mystery is straightforward and foreshadowed enough to be rather obvious. At multiple instances throughout the narrative, a major mystery is foreshadowed with about as much subtlety as a brick to the face. What makes it even worse is that the fic is meant to be an in-universe journal so any of the readers could have solved said mystery with a well-reasoned letter to the relevant authorities. This makes a lot of the waiting for the reveal and the "explaining" after the reveal rather tedious and in some cases downright torturous. If you're someone who yells at their TV when horror movie characters are acting dumb then this fic will make you throw your preferred reading device across the room. If you find it easy to ignore such things then the fic is well worth reading for the vibes and setting. There's a spot near the last 15% of the fic that's really hard to get through, but that still leaves a lot of good pages and the whole thing picks up steam again a couple chapters later.
  • LinkolnPastuerRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    This is my first review despite reading on Royal road for quite a few years. I love everything about this work. The author does a fantastic job of drawing the reader into the story and making you care about them. I've teared up a few times, been absolutely disgusted with characters, and laughed out loud or found myself smiling like an idiot.
    The main character is not overly powerful or important to start, just a scholar that decides to follow a witcher around in order to learn more about witchers and what they do. The story can get incredibly dark, but can also be lighthearted and fun.
    The style of the story is well done, it's written as a retelling of the main characters actions, but it's easy to forget and to get drawn into it.
    The Grammer mistakes are few and far between and usually end up just being a spelling mistake rather than the wrong vocabulary usage or grammatic mistakes.
    I've played through the Witcher 3 game as well as watched the series on Netflix. Neither of those are necessary to enjoy the read. If I had never heard of The Witcher before this, I would still enjoy it immensely.
    This story does not get enough attention on RR, overall I recommend it very strongly as long as you can stomach disturbing scenes.
  • Mateus RodriguesRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    Cara, essa novel trás uma visão bem diferente do mundo "the witcher" uma visão não de um bruxo, ou alguém super poderoso reincarnado ali, mas sim, de um habitante local sem poderes que viaja junto a um bruxo. Além disso, trás uma boa bagagem para os personagens, mostrando uma boa progressão de personagem, dando para ver nitidamente a diferença de pensamento dos personagens desde o início. Bem era isso, não sou muito bom em reviews, mas recomendo para quem gostar de um protagonista sem um "cheat" sendo mais uma pessoa normal do planeta vivendo e desvendando as coisas conforme elas aparecem.
    Google translate:
    Man, this novel brings a very different vision of the world of "the witcher", a vision not of a wizard, or someone super powerful reincarnated there, but rather of a local resident without powers who travels with a witcher or a sorcerer/druid/ or some other magic caster. Furthermore, it brings good background to the characters, showing a good character progression, making it possible to clearly see the difference in the characters' thoughts from the beginning. Well that was it, I'm not very good at reviews, but I recommend it to anyone who likes a protagonist without a "cheat" being just another normal person on the planet living and figuring out things as they appear.
  • ShinSplintersRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    I've been seriously enjoying this story so far. It's episodic in the way that Witcher stories should be, with reasonably short arcs, distinct enemies, mysteries to be solved and all that. But the characters build and grow over time, there are narrative through lines from arc to arc, and each story is resolved very satisfyingly as new characters are introduced and then left for the next adventure. It reflects the original stories without copying, and is faithful to their feeling and content. Kerrass and Frederick are very distinct from Geralt and Dandelion, and their association makes a good deal of sense in the world and times, as Frederick has essentially chosen to take up the same role Dandelion once did (while being much less annoying) from the perspective of a scholar rather than a bard. He also of course has his own Witcher with whom he has developed a slow friendship.
    The writing style is very pleasing and easy to read, descriptive while being easy to follow. I've noticed no jarring grammar issues or repetitive word use of the kind that often pulls me out of a story.
    Having read all of Sapkowski's stories and played the games, this is the most satisfying entry back into the world of The Witcher that I have found. The adventures of Kerrass and Frederick are scratching the itch that has lived in the back of my mind for many years, desirous of more time with the Witchers.